Can opener



V smooth, edgeshall result, thus eliminating til Patented Feb. 24, 1925.

. JoHn E. DnR-Knit, or enroireo, InLInors.`

ennL orENEnL (hintinuaton of application Serial No.. 564,878, filed May 31, 1922. This application filed; December 1, 1922.' Serial No. 604,276.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN E. DEKKER, a citizen of the United' States, and a resident of Chicago, county of Cook, and` State of"` Illinois, have invented certain new andl useful Improvements in Can. O peners, of Which the following is a specificatlon.

rllhe general' object o-f my'invent-ionh is to provide a can opener wherewith canscan'be opened quicker, easier and safer.

Another object of' my invention i's to provide a `can opener, Which shall be adapted to open cans that vary through a wide range of sizes and wherein adjustinent for useV in3 f Opening different slzed cans can be accomplished almost instantly.

Again I ailn to provide a canopener which in Operation shalllshear the metal* and turn down the severed edge portion of the can in such manner thata clean, relatively danger of injury to those handling the can.

Other objects of my invention` are to provide a can opener of simple construction; one which can be produced at' low cost; one that shall be durable and.3 particularly one inwhich the can shearingelement shall be adapted to withstandfor a long period of time the shearino of themetal and still retain its proper shearing action.

This application is a continuation of my application, Serial Number 564,878 filed May 31, 1922, entitled* Can openers.

My1 invention consists generally in a device of the form, arrangement, construction and co-operation of the pafts, whereby the above named objects, together with others that Will appear hereinafter are attainable; and my invention willlbe more readily understoodby reference to theaccompanying drawings which illustrate what I consider, at the present time, tobe the preferred embodiment` thereof.

In saiddrawings:

Fig. 1 is asideielevation of a can embodying my invention.

Fig.` 2 is a top plan view of`` the can opener, being illustrated connection with the Operation 'of Opening the can.

Figf3 is a detail sectional fra-ginentary view of the can opener positioned in the can.`

Fig. 4 is a sectional 'view substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and1 Fig. jis an enlargedL view, not to scale, in'elevation of the cutter or shear element opener andthe angles of the'cutting edges better to-` illustrate features that I have found: im-

portant., the diinensions 'of the cutter being shown in order'better to1illustfrate the structural characteristics thereof.` i

The device, as -here shown, is coniposed1` of four general parts or portions, to-wit, a canA piercing portion 1, a` shear guiding and'supporting portion 2, a handle 3 into-which the portion 2 extends, and inwhich it is suit-- ably fastened, and a shear element`` 4.

The handle portion 3 mayobviously vary in size, Shape and other characteristics, but-` I have thus far found a handle of the-size and general shape shownV` to be satisfactory. It is preferably made of Wood`|` andi provided With a suitable ferrule 5. The can piercing portion 1 may lilrewise vary in size and Shape, but I prefer to make itwflith an extreme end point or portion 6 which extendsgenerally in thedirection of theshear ii support and guiding portion 2, but which-is oif'set with respect theretm The portion (5 is connected to the end of the portion by means of the angularly disposed portion 7. The under face ofthe can piercing portion is preferably curved throughout as indicated at 8 so that in piercing thecan it canmore easily be swung as is necessary tobring it from the initial piercing position to the position in which the can opener operates during the shearing` Operation. On the upper side, however, the can piercing portion is preferably provided with a rather abrupt portion9, the purpose of which is to keep the hole in the can from being learnedr too large; and to prevent the point from being ripped out duringoperation.

The shear member 41, as here shown, is composed of a hubflportionlO andi twoiannular flange portions 11 and 12. The flange 11 is provided withfa'ceswlv andl 14, respectively, and the flange 12`ivvith.` faces land 16, Which throughout* the greaterpart thereof occupy parallel positions. Infother words, the fianges are substantially of the same thickjness throughout. For conveniencethe faces 13 and? 16 will beireferredtoas the outer faces of the flanges 11 and 12, respectively, and the faces` 14` and; 15 theiinner faces thereof.` The distance between the inner faces of the flangesl have foundatiobe a matter of great importancebecause unless properly sized, the. device Would Loperate unsatisfactorily. For example, ifi too close, it

wi11pinch,wi1lbe obstructed by Vertical can seam, may be run off the can, and Will Work extremely hard. On the other hand, if too wide, will leave a rough edge, and will not cut the entire cover but will leave a hinge portion. That is to say, the shearing action which I desire would be destroyed. The best spacing of the faces 14 and 15 that I have thus far determined is approximately .100 of an inch. I prefer to make the cutting flanges approximately .048 of an inch in thickness.

The shape of the periphery of the fianges is important inasmuch as they are called upon to perform several .different functions, that is to fsay, the one in use must progressively shear the cover metal, must turn it away in such a manner as to permit free movement thereof and should shear the metal of the can so cleanly that a smooth edge will result. The shape of the shear element 4 and particularly the cutting edges thereof, is probably best shown in Fig. 5, wherein it will be observed that adjacent the periphery is a beveled portion 19, and the other side is a relatively abruptly beveled portion 20. In order that the details of construction, which are extremely important, shall be better understood I have applied the dimensons and angles to the drawing. The other flange 12 is similarly constructed as that when the flange 11 has become dull after a long period of use the shearng element can be removed from the guide 2, reversed and replaced. To remove the shear element the handle can be removed. By providing a reversible shear element the potential life of the device is doubled.

One flange only operates at any one time as a shearing flange while the other operates as a. guiding flange.

The external diameter of the hub 10 is preferably about of an inch and it is provided with a central bore or Opening 21 which is larger in size than the size of the guiding portion 2, upon which it slides. As here shown, the guiding portion 2 is 3-95 of an inch in diameter so that the opening 21 should be approximately .290 of an inch. That is to say, I want the cutter 4 not only to slide freely on the guide rod 2, but also desire a certain intervening space, the function of which will appear from the following description of the Operation of the device.

Adjacent the outer end of the portion 2 is an annular portion 22, which, as here shown, is permanently secured to the member 2, the purpose of which is to prevent the shear element from slipping off the end adjacent the point.

I shall now describe the Operation of the device. It is first positioned vertically, as indicated by means of dotted lines in Fig. 3,

and then pressed downwardly so that the point 6 pierces the top 23 of the can. The device is then swung downwardly to the full line position shown in Fig. 3, thus positioning the portion 6 under the cover 23 and with the edge portion 24 of the hole formed by the piercing of the cover in abutment with the relatively abrupt corner 9 of the can piercing portion.

As the device is swung downwardly the shear 4 is moved along the guide 2 until the shearing flange 11 thereof is just inside the side wall 25 of the can, so that further downward pressure causes the shear-ing fiange tofshear the cover 23 as is well shown in Fig. 3. The device is pressed downwardly until the hub 10 of the shear element comes into contact with the upper edge or bead 26 of the can. The -dimensions of the parts are such that when the hub strikes the top seam of the can the shear will be found to project approximately als-th of an inch into the can cover. This places but a small part of the circumference of tl e shear in the can cover. That is to say most of the diameter thereof is outside the can. By thus inserting only a relatively small part of the shear in the can cover a true shearing action can be obtained. If any great part of the shear were inserted into the can the shearing action would be practically destroyed because in order to advance the shear around the can cover it would be necessary to plow or rip its way. This, of course, would make it extremely hard to operate and would result in quickly destroying or wearing away the edge of the cutter. It should be mentioned that before the shearing flange 11 shears the top of the can and as the pressure is applied to cause shearing thereof the device is in effect a lever which tends to Swing the end portion l of the device upwardly, which causes movement of the can top 23 from its initial flat condition, shown by means of dotted lines in Fig. 3, to the slightly upwardly curved or cambered condition shown by means of full lines in Fig. 3. This action would cause the flanges of the shear element 4 to assume non-parallel relations to the side wall 25 of the can which would be undesirable as the shearing action would be somewhat impaired. As before stated, however, I provide some space between the support or guide 2 and the bore of the shear element 41, so that when this space is taken up by the downward movement of the shear element, it is finally positioned with the flanges thereof substantially parallel to the adjacent side or YVertical wall of the can.

I-Iaving positioned the device in the full line position shown in Fig. 3 the complete cover can be quickly and easily severed by simply swinging the device around the can. The shear element is free to rotate which not only makes easy the shearing of the metal but also results in greatly adding to the life of the element 4:. The life of the shearing fianges is further increased by the very novel shaping of the outer or edge portions thereof. It should be noted that the angle between the faces 19 and 20 is ninety degrees, thus providing a right angle construction which will stand up almost indefinitely.

From the foregoing, it should be apparent that cans of widely different sizes can be opened with my device and that the only adjustment required is the sliding of the element 4 upon the element 2. Qnce the element fl is positioned, it automatically maintains its proper position for the shearing of the can. There are no set screws o-r other parts that need to be adiusted and there are no loose or movable parts that can be misplaced, lost or broken. The 'device here shown is one which takes in practically all sizes of cans in general use. The parts are all simple and hence can be produced at low cost; they are also rugged in character and hence durable. In use the device has proven to be remarkably eflicient and to remove the cover of the can in a clean-cut. and hence very desirable manner.

The many advantages of my device will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which this appertains without further comment.

I claim:-

1. A device of the kind described embodying therein, a shear guide an'd a shear element rotativelv mounted thereo-n, said element including a circular disc havinlg two faces and a peripheral cutting edge defined by oppositely beveled surfaces, the plane of the cutting edge beingl arranged closer to the plane of that face of the disc normally disposed adjacent the bead of a can than it isie the plane of the other of said faces, that bevele'd surface between the cutting edge and said last mentioned face of the disc being of a lesser angle than the other beveled surface.

2. A device of the kind described ombodying therein, a shear guide and a shear element rotatively mounted thereon, said element including 'a circular disc having two faces and a peripheral cutting edge defined by oppositely beveled surfaces, the plane of the cutting' edge beinig arranged closer to the plane of that face of the disc normally disposed adiacent the head of a can than it is to the plane of the other of said faces, that beveled surface between the cutting edge and said last mentioned face of the disc being of a lesser angle than the other beveled surface, and the angle between said oppositely beveled surfaces being` substantially a right angle.

3. A device of the kind described embodying therein, a shear guide and a shear element rotativelyT mounted thereon` said element including a circular disc having two faces and a peripheral cutting edge defined by oppositelv beveled surfaces. the plane of the cutting edge bein'g arranged closer to the plane of that face of the disc normally disposed adjacent the bead of a can than it is to the plane of the other of said faces, that beveled surface between the cutting edge and said first mentioned face of the disc approximately an angle of substantially sixtyfive degrees With reference to the axial plane of the shear element and the other beveled surface approximating an angle of substantially twenty-five degrees to said plane.

et. A device of the kind described embodying therein, a shear guide and a shear element rotatively mounted thereon, said element including a circular disc having two faces and a peripheral cut-ting edge defined by oppositely beveled surfaces, the plane of the cutting` edge being arranged closer to the plane of that face of the disc norinally disposed adjacent the bea'd of a can than it is to the plane of the other of said faces, said shear element havinlg a hub. the outer vperiph'ery of which is spaced radially inward substantially -Ffiths of an inch from said cutting edge.

5. A device of the kind described embodying therein a shear guide and a circular shear element including two disc members having parallel surfaces spaced substantially to engage opposite sides of the head of a can, o-ne of said discs having a peripheral cutting edge which by virtue of the spacingof said disc members operates as a shear in con- ]'unction with the adjacent inner surface of the head of a can, a hub portion extending between said disc members, said hub being spaced radiallv inward from the peripheral cutting edge, riding` upon the bead of the can and thel'eby lin'iiting the cutting edge to but slight proiection below the cover of the can to be opened.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 29th dav of November, 1922.

JOHN E. DEKKER. 

